Margins
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Penelope Crumb
Series · 4 books · 2012-2014

Books in series

Penelope Crumb book cover
#1

Penelope Crumb

2012

Penelope Crumb would LOVE Ramona Quimby! And might even name her eyebrow "Marge." Penelope Crumb is no ordinary fourth grader. She carries around a red toolbox that used to belong to her father (who's been dead since Penelope was a baby), she keeps a list for the government chronicling the many ways in which her brother is turning into an alien, she helps her home-schooled neighbor Littie with her many projects—including the construction of a marshmallow helmet—and also, she can draw pretty much anything. So when her best friend Patsy has to draw a picture of Penelope for class, she attributes the big nose Patsy gives her to Patsy's poor art skills. But then Penelope finds out that it's true! She does have a big nose! Just like her Grandpa Felix, who's been gone from her life since before she can remember. What follows is a sweet and funny story—with tons of heart and hijinks—about Penelope finding her grandpa and using her big nose—and his big nose—to make her family whole again.
Penelope Crumb Never Forgets book cover
#2

Penelope Crumb Never Forgets

2013

Penelope Crumb's best friend Patsy Cline Roberta Watson is becoming best friends with another girl in class, so Penelope decides she needs to win her back. Compliments and presents fail—and Penelope is afraid she'll lose Patsy Cline forever, so she decides to swipe Patsy's necklace and start a secret museum to remember all the people she cares about, in case they leave her too. But stealing turns out not to be the best plan, when Grandpa Felix calls the police about his missing camera, forcing Penelope to confess. Now she's lost both Patsy Cline AND her museum. But in the end she makes a huge personal sacrifice to repair her friendship with Patsy and finds out that drawing pictures—what she likes to do best!—is a way to make a personal museum that doesn't involve any sort of stealing.
Penelope Crumb Finds Her Luck book cover
#3

Penelope Crumb Finds Her Luck

2013

“Kids who have outgrown the Junie B. Jones series will enjoy Penelope’s equally comical narrative style.” —BCCB In the third book in this hilarious, endearing series, all Penelope Crumb wants is to be someone's "Favorite." She’d thought she was her Grandpa Felix’s Favorite, and her mom’s Favorite, and her friend Patsy Cline’s Favorite, but she’s starting to realize that maybe she’s not. And it’s all The Bad Luck’s fault. So since Penelope's a superb artist, she comes up with a plan—she's going to be the boss of the mural her school is making at the Portwaller’s Blessed Home for the Aged, which will make her into everyone’s Favorite. And maybe it’ll frighten The Bad Luck away. But things don't quite go as planned there either. And when an old woman named Nila promises to help Penelope find her luck so everyone will like her again, things get even worse! In the end, Penelope finds out that friendships aren't about luck—and that it doesn't matter if you're anyone's Favorite when there are tons of people who love you. In a book that’s equal parts humor and heart, it’s clear to see why young readers will count Penelope as one of their Favorites. Praise for PENELOPE CRUMB \* “ Penelope Crumb . . . channels the quirkiness of Ramona Quimby and the detective skills of Cam Jansen . . . Penelope will delight children and parents alike.”— Shelf Awareness, starred review “Penelope is an intrepid heroine with a unique and frequently amusing narrative voice . . . kids who have outgrown the Junie B. Jones series will enjoy Penelope’s equally comical narrative style.”— The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books “Readers will root for and relate to this fresh-voiced young heroine who joins the likes of Ramona, Judy Moody and Clementine.”— Kirkus Reviews
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#4

Penelope Crumb Is Mad at the Moon

2014

"Penelope Crumb makes a new friend when she is forced to learn how to square dance at school"—

Authors

Shawn K. Stout
Shawn K. Stout
Author · 10 books
Shawn K. Stout is the author of several acclaimed books for young readers, including the Penelope Crumb series, the Not-So-Ordinary Girl books, and the historical novel, A Tiny Piece of Sky. Her new novel, The Impossible Destiny of Cutie Grackle, will be in bookstores in Spring 2022. Shawn is a science writer at the National Institutes of Health and holds an M.F.A. in writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts. She lives with her family in Maryland. Visit her at www.shawnkstout.com.
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Penelope Crumb